http://www.grobber.com/ PostNuke Powered Site en-us http://www.grobber.com/images/logo.gif http://www.grobber.com/ tjhook@bellsouth.net http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5436 ***The Cubs were nothing more than an absolute disgrace! This was by far the worst showing in our lifetimes by a Chicago Baseball team in the Post Season. Six runs total in three games with sub par defensive play and no life whatsoever. OK, the 1983 "Winning Ugly" White Six won 99 games and their offense was even worse that this year's Cubs in the Playoffs. Those 83 Sox scored just three runs in four games against Baltimore in the ALCS,but they at least won a game 2-1. But the Cubs appeared beaten after game one on Wednesday night. ***And the Fans had nothing to do with the Cubs losing,but damned, the atmosphere(or lack thereof)was awful for the entire first game,and even though the crowd showed much more life for the first inning and a half of Thursday night contest,they were comatose for the rest of the night. It was definitely a cooperate crowd,which Management could care less about. The big time rollers are the only types whom Management cares about. The average Fans don't matter any more,no matter what the Club bosses say. ***The Brewers also are done,but they at least won a game. The White Sox and Angels stayed alive Sunday and each have won a game heading into Monday action. That means the Cubs finished in LAST PLACE among 2008 MLB Post Season teams--the only club NOT to win even one friggin game! Are Fans supposed to be excited about this? Should loyal fans be expected to forget this Playoff meltdown and just be thrilled with the meaningless 97 game regular season? I DON'T THINK SO! ***Heading into next season.Cub Fans will have every right to be as apathetic as can be. No matter what the Front Office does between now and Spring Training next year, all of the propaganda we'll hear at the Cub Convention,etc, will mean nothing. Fans are sick and tired of this 'Wait until next year' crap. The 97 regular season wins by the Cubs mean absolutely nothing! Who cares? This season was a total loss! ***The White Sox got 'on the board' with their 5-3 win over Tampa Bay.The Rays still lead the ALDS 2 games to 1,but the Sox have a chance Monday to send the series back to St.Pete for a fifth game Wednesday, Since the Angels beat the Red Sox in 12 innings and over five hours, the Sox and Rays game will start at 4pm,and the Angels-Red Sox contest goes at 7:30pm. The East Coast bias continues as the Red Sox are still being given preference for the Prime Time start. ***Heard several times after the Sox win Sunday night on the South Side: "Well the Sox have a Playoff win while the Cubs didn't win any." Nyah,Nyah,Nyah! ***The Bears are in first place for the first time since the 2006 season ended.Last year the Bears lost their opener in San Diego while Green Bay won it's first game and led the NFC North 'wire to wire'.The Bears had no intention of allowing the awful Detroit Lions even think about competing Sunday. The NFL is chock full of horrible teams in addition to Detroit. Houston may be the most talented 0-4 team, Cincinnati and St.Louis are also win less,and hopeless. Seattle,Kansas City,Oakland,and Cleveland are also dregs of the NFL. LES http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5435 The White Sox are back in their American League Division Series with Tampa Bay after using the pitching of John Danks,and some clutch hitting to beat the Rays 5-3.The Rays hit Danks pretty well in the first two innings,but only scored one run. That came in the second when Dioner Navarro doubled into the LF corner.He took third on a grounder to second by Rocco Baldelli.The after a walk to Jason Bartlett,Akinori Iwamura hit a slow roller that both Danks and Paul Konerko went after,and the speedy second baseman beat it out for an RBI infield single.The Rays however left two runners on like they did in the first inning. Garza walked DeWayne Wise leading off the Sox third. After Orlando Cabrera whiffed,Wise stole second,and he then scored on a hard hit single up the middle to tie the game 1-1. The Sox got to Garza for three runs in the 4th to take the lead for the first time. Jim Thome started the rally when he hit a long double over the head of CF B.J.Upton,who always plays shallow anyway. Konerko walked and Ken Griffey Jr.singled to right to load the bases. Alexi Ramirez lifted a sac fly to Upton in CF and in fact all three runners tagged and advanced. Wise then lined a two run double past Evan Longoria that rolled into the LF corner to score both Konerko and Griffey on what was the winning blow as it turned out. The Sox had another chance in the 5th when Pierzynski,who clearly had Garza figured out,hit a long double over Upton's head,but Dye fouled to Navarro,and after Thome walked,Konerko bounced into an around the hron double play to end the inning.The Sox added a run in the 6th with two gone in the 6th.Griffey led off with a walk, Brian Anderson ran for him,and stole second. Ramirez was robbed of a hit by 3B Evan Longoria,and Wise bounced out to a pulled in Carlos Pena at 1B. B ut Juan Uribe line an RBI single to left to score Anderson. The Rays got back into the game in the top of the 7th. Baldelli walked and two outs later,Upton lined a 400 foot plus two run homer to the Left Field seats to cut the Sox lead to 5-3.One hit by Pena later,Octavio Dotel relieved Danks and got out of the inning. Matt Thornton worked a scoreless 8th.Bobby Jenks worked the ninth,giving up only a walk,but he earned the save. NOTES---Attendance was 40,142.....The game was delayed for 35 minutes at the start.....Gavin Floyd(17-8)opposes Andy Sonnanstine(13-9)in Monday's game four. LES http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5434 BOSTON---Francisco Rodriguez's biggest save of a record-breaking season came in a tie game.Rodriguez wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th inning, Mike Napoli hit two early homers before scoring the go-ahead run in the 12th and the Los Angeles Angels avoided another playoff sweep by beating the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Sunday night.Boston had beaten Los Angeles in 11 consecutive AL playoff games, including three-game sweeps in 2004 and '07 en route to a pair of World Series titles. But the Angels chased Red Sox ace Josh Beckett early, then got six scoreless innings from five relievers to keep them in the game.Napoli hit a mammoth homer off the Green Monster light stanchion to tie the game 3-all in the third, then gave Los Angeles a lead with his second homer before the Red Sox tied it 4-all in the fifth. It stayed that way until Napoli singled to lead off the 11th, went to second on Howie Kendrick's sacrifice bunt and scored when Erick Aybar blooped a single to left-center.Jered Weaver, making his first career relief appearance, pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Javier Lopez, the sixth Boston pitcher, took the loss in a game that lasted 5 hours, 19 minutes. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5433 DETROIT---Like many NFL players, Kyle Orton seems to love playing the Detroit Lions.Orton set career highs in passing yards, completions and quarterback rating while throwing two touchdowns to lead the Chicago Bears to a 34-7 win over Detroit on Sunday.He was 24-of-34 for 334 yards and had a 121.4 rating, improving to 3-0 against the Lions.The Bears (3-2) broke a first-place tie with the Green Bay Packers, who lost at home to Atlanta, to lead the lackluster NFC North with about one-third of the season completed.The Lions (0-4) look like the might have trouble winning a game any time soon, and the move they made to fire team president Matt Millen appears to be moot because of the mess he left behind.The Bears built a 31-0 lead before rookie Kevin Smith scored for the Lions midway through the third quarter.Detroit played fourth-year quarterback Dan Orlovsky in the third quarter for the first time in his career, but it wasn't immediately clear if the move was made because Jon Kitna was hurt. Orlovsky was 13-of-26 for 97 yards -- all career highs -- and threw an interception. Kitna was 8-of-16 for 74 yards and fumbled on the Lions' fourth possession after losing 4 yards on the first three possessions. Matt Forte scored on a 9-yard reception to make it 10-0 in the second quarter and his 1-yard run early in the third made it 24-0.Orton connected with Devin Hester for a touchdown late in the second quarter and Charles Tillman intercepted a pass that went off Roy Williams' hands and returned it for a score, giving the Bears a 31-0 lead early in the third.It was a familiar start for Detroit.The Lions trailed 21-0 in their first two games and 21-3 in the third, leading to Millen's firing during a bye week that ended his era with an NFL-worst 31-84 mark since 2001. Detroit has been outscored 38-0 in the first quarter this season.The Bears had their most lopsided win on the road against the Lions since winning 42-14 in 1948.The Bears were without two key players on defense, cornerback Nathan Vasher to injury and defensive tackle Tommie Harris because of a team suspension, but they didn't have any trouble slowing down Detroit. Orton did plenty when they had the ball to enjoy his accomplishments. He surpassed his previous records of 22 completions and 268 yards passing -- both of which he reached last month against Tampa Bay -- and a 103.3 rating, which he set in a 38-6 win over the Lions at home in 2005.The win,coupled with Green Bay's home loss to Atlanta,put the Bears in first place for the first time since the end of the 2006 season. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5432 MILWAUKEE---Pat Burrell broke out of his slump in a big way with two homers, one a three-run shot, and Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth added solo homers Sunday to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that clinched their first trip to the NLCS since 1993.Overshadowed by the offensive barrage was a gem by Joe Blanton, who held the Brewers to one run after an eight-day layoff.Rollins got the Phillies started with a leadoff shot and Philadelphia won the best-of-5 series three games to one, earning another crack at the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.The teams have met for the NL pennant three times before. The Dodgers won in 1977 and '78, while the Phillies took the flag in 1983.Game 1 is Thursday in Philadelphia. During the regular season, each team swept a four-game series from the other at home.The wild-card Brewers, meanwhile, head for an offseason of uncertainty after their first playoff appearance in 26 years. Ace pitcher CC Sabathia, who almost single-handedly salvaged Milwaukee's postseason hopes, is a free agent and isn't expected back. Ben Sheets, the team's second-best starter, might be gone, too.Oh, and the Brewers need a manager after firing Ned Yost with 12 games left in the regular season. Dale Sveum took over on an interim basis.Burrell, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were a fearsome trio in the regular season for the Phillies, putting up the kind of numbers that make opposing pitchers shudder. Howard made a case for the NL MVP, leading the league in home runs (48) and RBI (146), and Utley and Burrell added 33 homers each.But their bats were deafeningly silent in the first three games of the series, even as Philadelphia jumped out to a 2-0 lead. The three were a dismal 4-for-28 in the first three games, with Burrell going hitless. The power outage was reminiscent of last year, when they went 5-for-27 while being swept by Colorado.This wasn't the same, Howard and Burrell insisted after Saturday night's loss. Philadelphia's offensive fortunes were about to turn.Did they ever.Rollins led off Sunday's game with a homer, turning on a 3-2 pitch from Suppan and depositing it into the first row of seats in right field. Two innings later, Shane Victorino doubled to left with one out and went to third on a groundout by Utley. The Brewers opted to walk Howard, which wouldn't seem like a bad move, considering Burrell's single in the second was his first hit of the postseason.But Burrell made the Brewers pay, lofting Suppan's 2-2 pitch so deep into the left-field stands that Ryan Braun barely bothered to chase it. He turned and started to jog toward the wall, but the ball was long gone by then. The Phillies weren't done, either, with Werth hitting a homer to make it 5-0. The sellout crowd at Miller Park booed Suppan, not letting up when Greg Dobbs flied out to end the inning.It could have been even uglier for Milwaukee. The Phillies had runners at second and third with only one out in the second, but Suppan struck out Carlos Ruiz and Blanton. Yovani Gallardo, who pitched Game 1 after missing most of the season with a knee injury, relieved Suppan and kept the Phillies in check, not allowing another hit until the seventh inning. But the damage was done by then.Burrell hit another monster homer to left in the eighth inning off Guillermo Mota.The Brewers had their own offensive worries, though Blanton can take credit for most of those. The burly right-hander, acquired in July from Oakland, hadn't pitched since Sept. 26 and was making only his second career postseason appearance.After a first-inning single by Braun, Blanton retired his next 10 hitters, with only four balls leaving the infield. He finally wore out in the seventh, giving up a leadoff homer to Prince Fielder, who had been 0-for-12 in his first postseason. After J.J. Hardy followed with a single, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel replaced Blanton with Ryan Madson.Hardy advanced to third on two groundouts, but Madson retired Jason Kendall on a popout to end the threat.The Brewers added another run in the eighth on Braun's two-out RBI single, and the Milwaukee fans- - including the blue-collar truck driver in Miller ads who's made it his mission to "take back the High Life" -- stood and began clapping their Thunder Stix, sensing a change in momentum. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5431 LOS ANGELES---It's a century and counting for the Cubs.A pitiful showing in the National League Championship Series-one that was even worse than last year-came to a lame finish in LA LA Land. Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers shoved the Cubs,and for that mattrer suffering Cub Fans into another long winter Saturday night, completing a three-game sweep of their first-round playoff series with a 3-1 victory.The Cubs' latest flameout has to be among the most galling, considering they fell flat against the Dodgers after their best regular season since 1945.It doesn't matter. It' all for naught and can be tossed in the garbage can. James Loney hit a two-out, two-run double in the first to get Los Angeles started, and Hiroki Kuroda worked 6 1/3 brilliant innings in the first postseason outing of his career.The three victories boosted first-year manager Joe Torre's postseason total to 79 -- the most in baseball history. His first 76 came in the previous 12 years as skipper of the New York Yankees, including 16 in four World Series triumphs.After earning their first postseason series victory in 20 years, the Dodgers will face Philadelphia or Milwaukee in the best-of-7 NLCS starting Thursday -- at Philadelphia should the Phillies win, at Dodger Stadium should the Brewers prevail.And the Cubs head home without having come close to their first World Series triumph since 1908. They have lost nine consecutive playoff games, including three to Arizona in the first round last year.They are now 0-7 lifetime during the Post Season in the State of California.While the Cubs clinched the NL Central on Sept. 20 and won a league-high 97 games, the Dodgers had a losing record as recently as early September before turning things around behind Manny Ramirez. They went 84-78 and won the NL West, baseball's weakest division.Make no mistake, the Dodgers dominated this series, outscoring the Northsiders 20-6 thanks in part to a lot of help from the bumbling Cubs. Cursed or not, they were outplayed in every way, committing six errors and doing a woeful job of hitting with runners in scoring position.Basically,they just plain STUNK! The Dodgers, meanwhile, entered having won only one postseason game since beating Oakland in the 1988 World Series. They tripled that output against the Cubs, who became the first team to finish with NL's best regular-season record and be swept in the first round of the playoffs since the Astros in 2001.Ramirez, who hit .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBIs in 53 games after joining the Dodgers, went 1-for-2 and scored a run, giving him five hits in 10 at-bats with two homers, five runs scored and three RBIs in the series. Rich Harden (0-1) walked Ramirez intentionally twice.The Dodgers began their locker room champagne celebration within a couple minutes after the final out, and several returned to the field shortly thereafter to share their joy with the fans. Russell Martin and Matt Kemp went into the left-field pavilion, and Kemp poured champagne into Kuroda's mouth in front of the Los Angeles dugout as the fans cheered.For the Cubs,they deserve caster oil.This wasn't Kuroda's first outstanding performance against the Cubs -- he shut them out on four hits while striking out 11 on June 6 at Dodger Stadium.The Cubs were pretty awful in the first two games at Wrigley Field, where they were an NL-best 55-26 during the regular season. Game 1 starter Ryan Dempster matched a career high with seven walks in 4 2/3 innings in a 7-2 loss, and each of the four Cub infielders committed errors in Game 2, leading to a 10-3 setback.A move to Los Angeles didn't help the pitiful offense, which scored a league-leading 855 runs this year,but none of that means crap now!. The Cubs had only four hits in 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position in the first two games before going 1-for-11 in Game 3.At least the long-suffering Cubs fans weren't around to boo them in Game 3, although the Dodger Stadium faithful made up for that. Russell Martin hit a one-out double in the first and took third on a single by Ramirez. After Harden struck out Andre Ethier, Loney hit a liner down the right-field line, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead and sending the towel-waving fans into an early frenzy.Rafael Furcal walked with one out in the fifth and scored on a double by Martin.The Cubs got their run in the eighth off Wade on a leadoff double by Derrek Lee, who had three hits, and a two-out RBI single by pinch-hitter Daryle Ward. Jonathan Broxton relieved and struck out Mark DeRosa to end the inning, and worked a perfect ninth with two more strikeouts to earn a save.Harden allowed five hits and three runs in 4 1/3 innings. He had gone 5-0 with a 1.99 ERA in his last 10 starts of the regular season.The Cubs put two runners aboard with two outs in both the first and third innings, but Kuroda worked out of trouble each time, retiring Geovany Soto to end the first and Aramis Ramirez to finish the third.Soto doubled to open the fourth and took third on an infield out. But after Soto stayed at third on another groundout, the Dodgers walked Ryan Theriot intentionally before Kuroda fanned Harden. NOTES---The Dodgers were 23-9 at Dodger Stadium after the All-Star break for the best home record in baseball. ... The Cubs were 42-38 on the road, but won 21 of their final 29 road games including nine straight from July 23-Aug. 15. ... Former Dodgers stars Don Newcombe and Duke Snider threw the ceremonial first pitches. Both were members of the franchise's first World Series championship in 1955. The Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles three years later. ... The Astros tied St. Louis for the NL's best record in 2001. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5430 MILWAUKEE---In the first ever post season game at Miller Park,which is the Brewers first period since the 1982 World Series,the Philadelphia Phillies were hoping to pull off a sweep. But Milwaukee,in it's first ever National Playoff contest, got good pitching and took advantage of wildness by the Phils pitchers to earn a 4-1 win and trim their deficit to two games two one in the NL Division Series.Dave Bush started out throwing strikes and Jamie Moyer did not. In the top of the first,Bush fanned Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Wirth,then threw out Chase Utley on a comebacker. In the bottom of the first, Moyer uncharacteristically walked lead off man Mike Cameron on four pitches,then put Billy Hall on with another walk,and he threw a wild pitch in the dirt. Ryan Braun fouled to 3B Pedro Feliz,but Prince Fielder was able to lift a sac fly to right and J.J.Hardy lined a two out RBI single to left to make it 2-0.The Phillies wasted a chance in the second after a lead off double to left by Ryan Howard,but Bush got Pat Burrell on a grounder to third,Shane Victorino on a fly ball to CF,and Feliz on a routine fly to left.Moyer was lifted for a pinch hitter in the to of the 5th,and Clay Condrey took over in the bottom of that inning.The Brewers got to him for an insurance run,again due to wildness. Cameron was hit by a pitch in the leg and Hall singled to center,sending Cameron to third.Braun then lifted a sac fly to left that scored Cameron to make it 3-0 Crew. The Phillies got on the board and chased Bush in the top of the 6th as Jayson Werth drove one to deep RF that Corey Hart appeared to first grab in front of the wall,but as he fell down,the ball came loose before Hart could show it to RF Umpire Mark Wegner and Werth ran all the way to third with a triple.Utley popped out to Hardy and Mitch Stetter relieved Bush. Howard bounced to Hall at third as Werth scored.The Brewers had a great chance to blow this game open in the 6th when they loaded the bases on singles by pitcher Carlos Villanueva,Cameron and Hall with one out,but Braun fanned against Chad Durbin,and then ex Cub Scott Eyre came in a got Fielder on a fly ball to left on a 3-1 pitch.But Eyre got into trouble in the bottom of the 7th.Hardy picked up his third hit of the game,a single to left,and he was bunted to second by Corey Hart. Craig Counsell,who had replaced Ricky Weeks in the fourth inning,hit a slow roller up the first base line,and he beat it out with no play. Jason Kendall followed with an RBI single to left. The Phillies had a 9th inning threat with runners at first and second with nobody out against Salomon Torres,but Feliz bounced into an around the horn double play,and even though Howard appeared to score from third on that play,he was sent back to third base when Umpires called runner's interference on Greg Dobbs. Carlos Ruiz then grounded out to end the game. NOTES---Attendance was 43,992....The 'Italian Sausage' won the first ever Post Season Sausage race after the top of the sixth inning....Jeff Suppan starts game four for the Brewers against the Phillies Joe Blanton on Sunday at 12:07pm. LES http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5429 KNOXVILLE---Nick Stephens threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Denarius Moore and Tennessee's new starting quarterback helped the Volunteers slip past Northern Illinois 13-9 on Saturday night.Stephens' touchdown pass came on the first play of a third quarter drive and put Tennessee (2-3) up 13-3. It was the Vols' longest play of the season. Tennessee still struggled, converting three of 13 third downs and picking up only nine first downs.With the Vols off to a poor start, Neyland Stadium was again less than full. The crowd was announced at 99,539, about 2,500 short of a sellout. It's unlikely an ugly win against a middle of the pack team from the Mid-Amercian Conference will do anything to appease Vols fans who have been displeased with Fulmer.Stephens completed 11 of 18 for 156 yards - not much different from Crompton's average stats - and the redshirt sophomore fumbled the ball at the Vols 23 after taking a hard hit.Mike Krause recovered for the Huskies at the 9, giving NIU its best shot at the end zone of the night.Back-to-back penalties for delay of game and sideline interference backed the Huskies up 10 yards, and Mike Salerno kicked a 25-yard field goal to pull Northern within 4 with 1:31 in the third quarter. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5428 ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Juice Williams threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 121 yards and two scores without making a mistake, leading Illinois to a 45-20 win over Michigan on Saturday. The quarterback's 431 yards of total offense for the Fighting Illini (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) were the most any player has had at Michigan Stadium and it matched an opponent record against the Wolverines. The Illini set a school record for points against Michigan, surpassing the 39 points Red Grange helped them score in 1924 as Memorial Stadium was dedicated, and they scored the most any team has at the Big House since Florida State had 51 in 1991.Michigan (2-3, 1-1) has its worst record after five games since starting 1-5 in 1967, two years before Bo Schembechler arrived.The Wolverines got off to a good start for a change, scoring a season-high 14 points in the first quarter, then they gave up 28 unanswered points and then some more to turn the game into a rout.Williams completed 13 of 26 passes and many of his incomplete passes were intentional after he eluded sacks and threw the ball away to avoid big losses. He ran the ball 19 times, including a 50-yard run that set up a score in the fourth quarter.He connected with Jeff Cumberland for a 77-yard pass, the longest by an Illini quarterback since 1985, and a perfectly lofted screen to running back Daniel Dufrene turned into a 57-yard TD. Arrelious Benn had six catches for 122 yards for the Illini, who fell out of the Associated Press poll this week for the first time this season following a loss at Penn State.Michigan's Steven Threet was 18-of-35 for 250 yards and two TDs. Sam McGuffie ran for 70 yards and a touchdown and freshman Martavious Odoums set season highs with seven receptions and 129 yards receiving.Thanks to Williams' sensational performance, Illinois won at Michigan Stadium for the first time since 1999. That victory helped the Illini go from 3-3 to 8-4, including a bowl win over Virginia, in what was their best season before winning nine games last season and playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1984.Michigan has some work to do to win enough games to play in a 34th straight bowl in Rich Rodriguez's debut season with college football's winningest program. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5427 SOUTH BEND---Jimmy Clausen threw for a career-high 347 yards and three touchdown passes and Notre Dame held on for a 28-21 victory over Stanford on Saturday.ND's seventh straight victory over the Cardinal (3-3) looked as if it was going to be a rout when the Fighting Irish (4-1) were up 28-7 in the fourth quarter.Stanford made a late run behind Tavita Pritchard. He threw a 1-yard pass to Jim Dray and a 10-yard TD pass to Doug Baldwin with 6 minutes left to close to within a touchdown.The Cardinal got the ball back on their own 2 with 3:34 left, but couldn't mount a drive. They had one last chance with 8 seconds left, but fumbled the ball and Pat Kuntz recovered to end the game.The Irish, who started last season 0-5, won their fifth straight home game after losing a school-record six straight at Notre Dame Stadium a year ago. The Cardinal haven't won at Notre Dame Stadium since 1992.The game ended with some pushing and shoving, but coaches quickly separated the teams.It was the second straight career-best performance for Clausen, who threw for 275 yards a week earlier against Purdue. He was much more efficient against the Cardinal, however, completing 29-of-40 passes with no interceptions. He had a 21-yard touchdown pass to Armando Allen Jr., a 48-yard scoring pass to Michael Floyd and a 16-yard TD pass to Kyle Rudolph.Floyd had five catches for 115 yards for the Irish and Allen had seven catches for 66 yards and also scored on a 3-yard run as the Irish were held to 83 yards rushing. The 29 completions also were a career-high for Clausen.After rushing for 107 yards in the first quarter, Stanford managed just 22 yards running in the second and third quarters. The Cardinal finished with 161 yards rushing on 37 carries, led by Toby Gerhart's 104 on 13.Pritchard was 18-of-28 passing for 182 yards, including 10-of-11 for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Gerhart, who left the game last week against Washington with a mild concussion, scored on a 1-yard TD run.The Cardinal were slowed in the first half by three interceptions thrown by Pritchard and eight penalties for 51 yards.The Irish took control with two second-quarter touchdowns, sandwiched around an interfering with a fair catch call, to move ahead 21-7. On the first drive, Clausen completed 5-of-6 passes for 65 yards and a pass interference call put the ball on the 2. Allen then raced between two Cardinal defenders to give the Irish a 14-7 lead.The Irish defense then held Stanford to a three-and-out. On the punt, Allen signaled a fair catch and raced up to catch it, but Nate Wilcox-Fogel got in the way. The ball hit Allen and Stanford's Will Powers picked it up and began running for the end zone, but officials called the interference penalty.Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh was irate, throwing down his play card and tossing his hat, because he thought Wilcox-Fogel was blocked into Allen.The Irish got the ball on the Stanford 48. On third-and-8, Clausen threw a long pass that Floyd caught at the 5 and ran in untouched after Stanford cornerback Wopamo Osaisai fell, giving the Irish a two-touchdown lead. The Irish made it 28-7 on Rudolph's TD catch. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5426 ST. PETERSBURG---The White Sox only lost one game in their 2005 Championship run. But this year they already have two defeats. All-Star Scott Kazmir settled down after a shaky start, Akinori Iwamura hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Mark Buehrle, and the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays beat the White Sox 6-2 Friday night for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.The Rays rallied for the second straight day and remained undefeated in their young postseason history.The Sox try to avert a sweep when the series resumes Sunday on the South Side.Of the 35 teams to fall behind 2-0 in the division series before this year, just five have come back to advance.It's been a bleak October for both Chicago teams. The Cubs lost their first two NL playoff games at home to the Los Angeles Dodgers.The Sox started quickly, scoring twice in the first on Jim Thome's RBI single and Alexei Ramirez's sacrifice fly, but Kazmir struck out Juan Uribe with the bases loaded to end the inning after three straight foul balls.Dioner Navarro's run-scoring single off Buehrle in the second began the comeback following a two-base throwing error by Ramirez at second. Iwamura gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead with a drive into the left-center field stands off Buehrle in the fifth.The Rays added three runs in the eighth, when B.J. Upton tripled and scored on Carl Crawford's single, which chased Buehrle. Baldelli's run-scoring single against Octavio Dotel made it 5-2, and Navarro followed with a RBI double off Matt Thornton.Kazmir hit Orlando Cabrera with a pitch, walked Nick Swisher and gave up a single to Jermaine Dye that loaded the bases with no outs in the first -- hardly the start he was looking for after giving up four homers in two of his last three regular-season outings.The Sox threatened again in the second and fourth but couldn't score. The White Sox stranded eight runners through five innings, allowing the Rays to stay close until Iwamura's opposite-field homer put Tampa Bay ahead.The sellout crowd of 35,257 at Tropicana Field stood and chanted "Aki! Aki! Aki!" until Iwamura poked his head out of the dugout for a curtain call. He homered once in 192 at-bats against left-handed pitching during the regular season.Kazmir allowed two runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, leaving after Uribe's leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt in the sixth. Maddon brought in Grant Balfour to face Orlando Cabrera, who had a heated exchange with the Rays reliever before striking out in a crucial situation during Tampa Bay's 6-4 win in Game 1.Balfour got the better of Cabrera again, but this time without the dramatics of Thursday when the players shouted at each other after Balfour said something to himself on the mound and the White Sox shortstop mistakenly thought he was talking to him.Cabrera grounded to second base, moving Uribe to third, before Balfour escaped the jam by getting Swisher on a flyout.Tampa Bay's bullpen worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings, with J.P. Howell and Chad Bradford following Balfour. NOTES---John Danks (12-9)opposes Tampa Bay's Matt Garza (11-9) in game three Sunday....Thome, in the playoffs for the first time since 2001 when he was with Cleveland, was 0-for-13 against Kazmir before his RBI single. He's driven in 37 runs in 57 postseason games....U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger threw out the ceremonial first pitch.... The Rays played without slugger Carlos Pena, who had slightly blurred vision in his left eye. He scratched his cornea at home Wednesday and was removed from Game 1 after two innings. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5425 ANAHEIM---The Cubs aren't the only team with their League's best record that's in big trouble. Boston has the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the team with baseball's best record, on the verge of elimination.J.D. Drew stunned Francisco Rodriguez with a two-run homer in the ninth inning, and the defending World Series champions beat the Halos 7-5 on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in their ALDS. Boston, one win from advancing to the AL Championship Series, won its 11th consecutive postseason game against the Angels, outscoring them 80-33 and setting the record for most postseason victories in a row over one opponent. The Red Sox won their ninth consecutive postseason game overall.Boston swept the Angels in the first round in 2004 and last year, both times en route to World Series titles.Game 3 will be Sunday night in Boston, with Joe Saunders pitching for the Angels against Josh Beckett, who was pushed back from the opener after injuring a muscle in his side. Drew's RBI double and Jason Bay's three-run homer off Ervin Santana gave Boston a 4-0 lead in the first inning, but the Angels, 100-62 during the regular season, clawed back and tied the score in the eighth when Chone Figgins hit a leadoff triple off Justin Masterson -- the Angels' first extra-base hit of the series after 19 singles -- and Mark Teixeira hit a one-out sacrifice fly against Jonathan Papelbon (1-0).Rodriguez (0-1), who set a record with 62 saves in the regular season, got the last out in the eighth. He allowed a leadoff double to David Ortiz in the ninth on a ball that bounced out of the glove of Reggie Willits, who tried for a leaping catch at the wall in right-center. After Kevin Youkilis grounded out, Drew pounced on a 2-2 changeup and sent it deep over the wall in center.Rodriguez, who allowed a game-ending home run to Manny Ramirez in Game 2 last year, hung his head, then covered much of his face with his glove.Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia also have 2-0 first-round series leads. Of the 35 teams to fall behind 2-0 in the division series before this year, just five have come back to advance, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Only one - the 2001 New York Yankees - came back to win after losing the first two at home.Papelbon retired all six batters he faced, getting help from Youkilis in the ninth. The third baseman caught pinch-hitter Gary Matthews Jr.'s foul popup with a terrific leaping grab over a camera well for the second out. Papelbon then struck out Howie Kendrick to end the game, and the closer pumped his arms and pounded his chest after his final pitch.The Angels, who have lost nine consecutive postseason games, stranded 11 runners -- all in the first seven innings.Hunter hit a two-out RBI single off Daisuke Matsuzaka in the bottom half, but Jacoby Ellsbury doubled in a run for a 5-1 lead in the fourth.Figgins singled in a run in the fourth and Hunter in the fifth, with the Angels stranding runners at the corners both times.Masterson walked Mike Napoli with the bases loaded in the seventh, then struck out Kendrick -- who stranded 12 runners in two games -- and Erick Aybar.Matsuzaka gave up three runs and eight hits in five innings, throwing 108 pitches. Santana allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5424 ***The Cubs played like a bunch of stiffs in game two of their NLDS Series with the Dodgers Thursday night. Four errors,one by each of a different infielder helped sold out Carlos Zambrano. The two miscues in the Dodgers five run second inning cost Zambrano four unearned runs. Had Mark DeRosa not bobbled Blake DeWitt's double play grounder,then Big Z would have gotten out of the inning unscored on. ***The Cubs four errors were the most by the Club in Post Season play since 1932 when they committed four against the Yankees in the World Series(what's that around here?). The team record is five set twice,but most recently in 1910 against the Philadelphia A's. ***The crowd was much more alive at the start of game two then they were on Wednesday night when they sounded dead,even when DeRosa hit his two run homer to give the Cubs a brief two run lead. But after a bases loaded double by Russell Martin made it 5-0,the crowd went back into their comatose state. ***Now the Cubs must go to Los Angeles and win a pair to have a chance to keep their season alive. Oh, and they are 0-6 in Post Season games played in California(0-3 in San Diego in 1984 and 0-3 in San Francisco in 1989)and if you count two losses at Arizona last fall,the Northsiders are 0-8 on the West Coast lifetime in Playoff games. ***Hope you don't have tickets for game five! ***The only team in Division Series history(dating back to 1995)to lose the first two at home,yet win the next three was the Yankees in 2001 against Oakland. ***The White Sox did not get the pitching performance from Javy Vazquez they needed in game one of their ALDS series Thursday,and the Tampa Bay Rays won the first Post Season game they ever played in. Mark Buehrle needs to hold the Rays in check in game two Friday in order to get the Southsiders even before they return home Sunday. ***Wonder what Orlando Cabrera's problem was when he kicked dirt at home plate after an outside pitch from reliever Grant Balfour. Credit plate umpire Joe West with stepping in front of Cabrera before he could charge the mound. Cabrera yelled some things that could easily be made out off the TV screen including a two word phrase that begins with the sixth letter of the alphabet.Balfour then fanned the Sox leadoff man,pumped his fist and screamed a few syllables in the direction of Cabrera. Let's see if there is any carryover in game two. ***Another team within 90 miles of Chicago,the Brewers is returning home for game three Saturday trailing the Phillies two games to none. This is starting to look like East and West Coast dominated League Championship series. ***The Bears suspended DT Tommy Harris for Sunday's game in Detroit for conduct detrimental to the team. Harris is still rehabbing his injured knee and with the Bears heading to their Bye Week,he'll have extra time to get stronger. LES http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5423 The next sporting event at Wrigley Field....likely to be the NHL's Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and Detroit on January 1,2009! That is unless the Cubs can do something they have never done,and that's win a post season game in California(they are 0-6 there), and in fact they have to win twice out there to get this NLDS back to Clark and Addison. The Cubs franchise record post season losing streak reached eight as Chad Billingsley and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cubs 10-3 to take a two games to none lead back to the Southland.The Cubs played like a team that was "on something" in the second inning when Carlos Zambrano's defense let him down. The five run onslaught started with an Andre Ethier's line single.Next James Loney on the hit and run bounced one to the normal short stop position,but Ryan Theriot was on his way to cover second,which allowed the ball to get past into the outfield. Matt Kemp looked at a called third strike for the first out. Next Blake DeWitt hit a would be double play grounder that Mark DeRosa bobbled for an error as Ethier scored. Casey Blake then hit a sharp grounder that ate up Derrek Lee at 1B for the second error of the inning which loaded the bases. Out came Pitching Coach Larry Rothschild to settle Zambrano down. The Cub righty proceeded to fan Billingsley for the second out. But Rafael Furcal laid down a bunt that DeRosa charged and fielded,but with no chance to throw out the speedy Dodger lead off man as Loney scored. With the bags still jammed, Russell Martin cracked a bases clearing double into the left-center field gap which rolled to the wall. Just like that, 5-0 LA,and four of the runs were unearned,yet none should have scored.Manny Ramirez hit his second homer of this series leading off the top of the fifth. Zambrano lasted until the top of the 7th when he walked M.Ramirez with one out and Neil Cotts relieved. Big Z`did get a nice ovation from the crowd as he departed. Cotts walked Ethier on four pitches,and one out later Kemp doubled into the RF corner to score Ramirez and make it 7-0. The Cubs finally got on the board in the bottom of the 7th with two out back to back doubles by DeRosa and Jim Edmonds. When Geovany Sota singled Edmonds to third, Joe Torre took out Billingsley in favor of Cory Wade.The Dodgers added two more in the 8th,and one more in the 9th thanks to the Cubs fourth error of the game which ties an NLDS record. Each Cub starting infielder had an error. DeRosa doubled in a pair against Takashi Saito in the 9th. NOTES---Rich Harden tries to keep the Cubs sinking hopes alive in game three on Saturday at Dodger Stadium against Hiroki Kuroda who blanked the Cubs out there in the regular season....The Cubs four errors(one by each infielder)was the most by the Northsiders in Post Season play since the 1932 World Series against the Yankees. LES http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5422 ST. PETERSBURG---Evan Longoria and the Tampa Bay Rays appeared perfectly at home in the playoffs with a Game 1 victory over the White Sox.The All-Star 3B homered in his first two at-bats and the surprising AL East champions were a big hit in their postseason debut, beating the Sox 6-4 Thursday in their AL playoff opener.The Rays held the Southsdiers in check with James Shields' effective start and Grant Balfour's testy, bases-loaded escape. The Trop rocked on this day with a sellout crowd of 35,041. Rays season-ticket holder Dick Vitale joined in the fun, waving a "We Love Longoria" placard from his first-row seat next to the visitor's dugout. The White Sox took a 3-1 lead on Dewayne Wise's three-run homer in the third inning. But Javier Vazquez, who has a history of flopping in big games, could not hold it.Longoria became the second player to homer in his first two postseason at-bats, joining one of his former minor league hitting coaches, Gary Gaetti, who did it with the Minnesota Twins in 1987.Longoria homered on his first postseason pitch, a 421-foot leadoff drive in the second. He put Tampa Bay ahead 4-3 with another solo shot in the third, a 430-foot homer off one of the infamous catwalks that support the roof at Tropicana.He also had an RBI single and finished 3-for-3 with three RBI.The Rays led 6-3 in the seventh when the game got tense.Balfour relieved Shields with the bases loaded and one out, and struck out Juan Uribe. Orlando Cabrera was up next and after ball one, he kicked dirt toward the mound and appeared to shout something at Balfour. The reliever walked toward the plate before being stopped by umpire Joe West. Balfour fanned Cabrera to end the threat, pumped his fist and pointed at the White Sox shortstop. The exchange also brought Maddon and bench coach Dave Martinez out of the dugout and more words were exchanged.Cabrera said he was responding to something Balfour said.It was the same kind of feisty attitude the Rays displayed in spring training during a dustup with the New York Yankees and a bench-clearing brawl in June on their first visit to Boston to play the Red Sox.Shields allowed three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings. Balfour struck out both batters he faced and J.P. Howell worked a perfect eighth.Dan Wheeler gave up a solo home run to Paul Konerko in finishing for a save. Wheeler is filling in for closer Troy Percival, who has been slowed by injuries and was left off the playoff roster.Tampa Bay slugger Carlos Pena left after the second inning with slightly blurred vision in his left eye. The Rays said he accidentally scratched his eye at home, and was expected to return to the lineup for Game 2.Longoria's RBI single in the fifth made it 5-3 and chased Vazquez.Carl Crawford, back in the lineup for the first time since injuring his finger on Aug. 9, hit an RBI single off Clayton Richard. Vazquez allowed six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings -- the fourth consecutive start, all losses, he's gone less than five innings. NOTES---Mark Buehrle (15-12) opposes Scott Kazmir (12-8) in game two Friday...Vazquez is the first pitcher to start Game 1 of a playoff series with at least 16 regular-season losses since Steve Carlton in 1983. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5421 PHILADELPHIA---One more loss to the Phillies, and CC Sabathia and the Milwaukee Brewers will have all winter to rest.Brett Myers rankled Sabathia with a pesky at-bat and dominated the rest of the Brewers from the mound, and Philadelphia beat Milwaukee 5-2 on Thursday behind Shane Victorino's grand slam for a 2-0 lead in their best-of-5 NL playoff series.Myers allowed two runs and two hits in seven innings, pulling the Phillies within one win of the NL championship series.Ryan Madson and J.C. Romero worked the eighth, and Brad Lidge had a suspense-free ninth for a change.Pitching on three days' rest for the fourth consecutive start, Sabathia had his worst outing since joining the Brewers in a trade with Cleveland on July 7.The burly left-hander allowed five runs and six hits -- all extra bases -- in 3 2/3 innings. He walked four, his second-highest total of the season.Now, Sabathia might have to wait six months for his next start. And, that might be in a different uniform. The 28-year-old will be one of the most sought-after free agents at the end of the season.The Phillies need one victory to advance to the NLCS for the first time in 15 years. Game 3 is Saturday at Miller Park, with 45-year-old Jamie Moyer (16-7) pitching for the NL East champions against Dave Bush (9-10).Sabathia was 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA in 17 starts for Milwaukee, almost single-handedly leading the wild-card Brewers to their first postseason berth since 1982.But Sabathia struggled in the playoffs -- again. He's lost his last three postseason starts, including two against Boston in last year's ALCS. Overall, Sabathia is 2-3 with a 7.92 ERA in the playoffs.Sabathia had all his pitches working in the first. Victorino doubled with one out and stole third, but Sabathia struck out Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to end the threat. Utley couldn't touch Sabathia's off-speed stuff and Howard had no chance against a 96 mph fastball.Sabathia was uncharacteristically erratic in the second and the Phillies took advantage. Jayson Werth lined a one-out double to left-center and Pedro Feliz followed with an RBI double down the left-field line to tie it at 1.After Carlos Ruiz grounded out, Myers kept the inning going by working a walk. Digging in, choking up and crouching, Myers drew cheers for fouling off a 1-2 pitch after wildly missing the first two pitches.He fouled off two more during the at-bat and earned a standing ovation from an appreciative crowd that understood the importance of making Sabathia throw more pitches. Sabathia then walked Jimmy Rollins on four pitches to load the bases.That brought up Victorino, who had a career-high 14 homers this season. Victorino fell behind 1-2 before driving a hanging curve into the seats in left to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead. The Flyin' Hawaiian raised his arm in the air as he circled the bases with his father watching in the stands.The sellout crowd of 46,208 -- the largest in the five-year history of Citizens Bank Park -- went wild, waving their "Fightin' Phils" rally towels and bringing Victorino out of the dugout for a curtain call.Myers, who batted .059 (4-for-58) this season with four walks, made Sabathia throw 10 pitches his second time up. During the at-bat, a fan reached over the railing down the right-field line and caught a foul ball with his cap. The guy got a standing ovation. So did Myers after he flied out.It was that good a night for the Phillies and their championship-starved fans, who haven't celebrated a title since the NBA's 76ers won it all in 1983.The Phillies chased Sabathia in the fourth. Rollins doubled with two outs and Victorino was intentionally walked. Utley walked to load the bases, ending Sabathia's night. Mitch Stetter came in and struck out Howard looking.Myers lined a two-out single to right off Seth McClung to load the bases in the fifth. But Rollins lined out to end the threat.The Brewers missed an opportunity to break it open in the first after Myers walked in a run with one out.Myers threw three straight called strikes to Mike Cameron to start the game, but quickly lost his control. He walked Ray Durham on four pitches and Ryan Braun followed with a double off the wall in left-center. After Prince Fielder was intentionally walked to load the bases, Myers walked J.J. Hardy to force in a run.But Myers escaped further trouble by getting Corey Hart to hit into a home-to-first double play on a bouncer to the mound.Ryan Braun doubled and scored on Craig Counsell's RBI groundout to cut it to 5-2 in the seventh.Fielder was the tying run when he came up against Romero in the eighth, but he shattered his bat on a weak grounder to second base. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5420 Not the way the Cubs wanted to start this Post Season as the top seed in the National League.The jammed packed crowd of 42,099 was taken out of the game in a sudden fashion. Ryan Dempster,who has been lights out at Wrigley Field all season,could not throw strikes,and his wildness cost him in the decisive fifth inning as James Loney ripped a Grand Slam and Derek Lowe and the Los Angeles Dodgers took game one of the National League Division Series 7-2.LA also stole away Home Field advantage. In a season that has seen road wins become a tough premium for most Major League teams, that's a costly first game loss. Last year against Arizona,the Cubs only had the lead for 1/2 inning in the entire series.They already exceeded that in game one of this year's NLDS but only for 4 1/2 innings. With one out in the Cub second,Jim Edmonds lined the first hit of the series to left field.Mark DeRosa then hit a high drive down the RF line that carried over Andre Ethier's head into the former 'catwalk' seats to give the Cubs first blood and a 2-0 lead.Dempster had control troubles from the first inning however which did him and the Cubs in.Dempster dodged a big time bullet in the Dodger third when he walked Lowe and Rafael Furcal with one out.Russell Martin flew out to Alfonso Soriano down the LF line,but Manny Ramirez beat out a slow roller to SS to load the bases.Yet on a 3-2 pitch,Ethier swung and missed at what likely would have been ball four, leaving the bases jammed. In the Cub 4th,DeRosa and Ryan Theriot singled with two outs,but Dempster whiffed.In the fatal Dodger 5th, Furcal walked with one away then M.Ramirez and Ethier each took ball four to again load the bases with two gone.Loney then got to a 2-2 offering and hammered it to center field as Edmonds watched sail into the seats for the aforementioned Slam.Game pretty much over at that point and the crowd sensed it. Matt Kemp followed with a double to the gap in left center and with 109 pitches,Dempster's night was finished. Sean Marshall relieved. He got out of that inning and had a scoreless inning with one walk-the 8th issued by Cub pitching. The Cubs wasted a lead off double by Aramis Ramirez in the 6th. The M.Ramirez increased the LA lead to 5-2 by golfing a Marshall pitch into the LF Bleachers.Cory Wade relieved Lowe to begin the bottom of the seventh,and even with a pinch single by Mike Fontenot,the Cubs failed to score.The Dodgers put it further out of reach with single runs in the 8th and 9th innings. Jeff Samardzija gave up a double to Blake DeWitt,who was driven in via a single by Casey Blake. Then Jason Marquis worked the ninth,and gave up a lead off homer to Martin. Former Cub Greg Maddux pitched the ninth inning for the Dodgers and he received a nice ovation from the crowd as he walked in from the bullpen. NOTES---The Cubs have now lost a franchise record even straight post season games dating back to the horrors of the 2003 NLCS against Florida.....The Cubs now know they must win at least one game in Los Angeles to take this series.And keep in mind,the Cubs are 0-6 lifetime in California(0-3 each at San Diego and San Francisco)in Post Season games, and they are 0-8 out West if you count the two losses to Arizona in Phoenix a year ago....Carlos Zambrano opposes Chad Billingsley in Game two Thursday night at 8:37pm. LES http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5419 ANAHEIM---No matter how much the Los Angeles Angels dominate Boston in the regular season, the Red Sox roll in October.Jason Bay hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off John Lackey in the sixth inning, and the World Series champions beat the Angels 4-1 on Wednesday night in the opener of their AL playoff series.Acquired in the three-team trade that sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bay brought Boston back from a 1-0 deficit in the first postseason game of his career, and the Red Sox got a big start from John Lester (1-0), who allowed only an unearned run in seven innings.LA won eight of nine regular-season games between the teams this year, outscoring the Red Sox 42-17 in the final six. But the Red Sox have won 10 consecutive postseason games against the Angeles dating to 1986, including first-round sweeps in 2004 and 2007 en route to World Series titles.Boston tied a major league record for consecutive postseason victories against the same opponent, a mark Oakland set against the Red Sox from 1988-03.The Angels will try to draw even Friday night in Game 2 of the best-of-5 series, with Ervin Santana pitching against Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka.While only four of 28 teams to lose NL division series openers have come back to win series, it's been an even 14-14 split in the AL.With Boston clinging to a 2-1 lead and rookie Justin Masterson on the mound, Jacoby Ellsbury made a great diving catch on Mark Teixeira's sinking fly to center starting the eighth. Vladimir Guerrero followed with a single before Torii Hunter blooped a hit over first baseman Kevin Youkilis, who quickly recovered and easily threw out Guerrero at third.Ellsbury and David Ortiz added RBI singles in the ninth off Scot Shields, and Jonathan Papelbon finished for his fifth postseason save, extending his postseason scoreless streak to 15 2/3 innings.The Angels broke on top with an unearned run in the third on Hunter's two-out, RBI single. Garret Anderson hit a one-out single and, after Teixeira struck out, rookie shortstop Jed Lowrie muffed Guerrero's grounder before Hunter lined a 1-2 pitch to left that dropped in front of Bay who later hit an 0-1 pitch far over the left-field fence with Youkilis aboard. He flipped his bat as he began his home run trot upon leaving the batter's box, long before the ball landed in the seats beyond the double-decker bullpen.Lester got the Game 1 assignment after Josh Beckett was pushed back to Game 3 because of an oblique problem. He retired his final seven batters, striking out four, and only one outfielder had a putout during his stint. Lester struck out seven and walked one.Lackey, who won Game 7 of that World Series, allowed two runs and four hits in 6 2/3 innings with three walks and five strikeouts. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5418 PHILADELPHIA---Cole Hamels put Philadelphia in position to win, then Brad Lidge barely hung on. Behind their top two arms, the Phillies grabbed their first postseason victory in 15 years.Hamels pitched eight brilliant innings, Lidge escaped a ninth-inning jam and Philadelphia took advantage of Mike Cameron's miscue in center field for a 3-1 win over Milwaukee in their first ever National League playoff opener,and first period since 1982.Chase Utley's two-run double slipped out of Cameron's glove in the third inning, sending Philadelphia to a 3-0 lead. Lidge allowed a run in the ninth but struck out Corey Hart with runners and second and third to end it.Game 2 in the best-of-5 series is Thursday, with ace CC Sabathia going to the mound for the wild-card Brewers on three days' rest for the fourth consecutive start. Brett Myers pitches for the Phillies.It'll be tough for anyone to match Hamels' superb performance. The 24-year-old lefty retired the first 14 batters and allowed two hits, striking out nine. Lidge, 41-for-41 in save chances during the season, pitched out of trouble. The Brewers had the tying run at the plate when Prince Fielder fanned for the second out. After J.J. Hardy walked to put two runners on, the runners advanced on a wild pitch. But Hart struck out swinging to end it.Hamels baffled the fastball-hitting Brewers with his dazzling changeup, helping the Phillies earn their first postseason win since the 1993 World Series against Toronto.The NL East champions were swept out of the first round by the surging Colorado Rockies last year. Hamels lost the opener of that series.Making his second start since returning from surgery for a torn knee ligament, Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo got rattled after his defense fell apart in the third. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5417 For the first time since the 1906 World Series, the City of Chicago has two baseball teams in the post season. The White Sox joined the Cubs in MLB's eight team tournament by edging the Minnesota Twins 1-0 on Jim Thome's tape measure homer off Nick Blackburn in the 7th inning.John Danks threw eight brilliant shutout innings as the Sox earned a spot in the American League Division Series opposite the Tampa Bay Rays who are in the Post Season for the first time in their 11 year history.The White Sox got the game's first break in the top of the first.Denard Span led off with a walk against Danks.Then Alexi Casilla on a hit and run lined a rope to Juan Uribe at third and Span,who would have had second base stolen,was easily doubled up.In the bottom of the first,Orlando Cabrera singled to left,but Blackburn got DeWayne Wise to bounce into an unusual 4-3-6-3-6 double play with Cabrera tagged out at the end of the rundown. In the Sox second,Thome led off with a walk and two outs later,Alexi Ramirez also took a free pass. But A.J.Pierzynski grounded to short. The Twins got a lead off double down the LF line by Michael Cuddyer in the 5th,and he advanced to third on a fly ball by Delmon Young. Brendan Harris lifted a towering flyball to shallow CF and when Ken Griffey Jr caught it, the Twins sent Cuddyer,challenging the perceived weak arm of Junior,and the throw was just in time and Pierzynski held onto the ball to make the tag in time.He later said he has no idea how he held onto the ball. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the seventh when Thome hit one to dead center that was a no doubt about it shot that was estimated to be 461 feet.That was the beginning of the end for Blackburn(11-11) who one out later gave up a double to right center by Ken Griffey Jr. Ramirez was intentionally walked and Jose Mirajes relieved and got out of the inning by getting Pierzynski on a grounder to 1B and Uribe on a fly ball to CF.The drama began to build but Minnesota only got one more base runner-Harris,who singled with one out in the top of the 8th,but Nick Punto bounced into a 6-4-3 double play, That was the end of the workload for Danks(12-9)who only gave up the two hits that the Twins had. Bobby Jenks worked the 9th and fanned pinch hitter Jason Kubel, induced Span to ground out to Nick Swisher,who had replaced Konerko at 1B, and then Casilla hit a blooper to short CF that Brian Anderson ran down to set off the celebration. NOTES---Attendance was 40,354 which is the largest home crowd for the Sox since 2003.....The White Sox left for St.Pete right after the game.Javy Vazquez(12-16)will start the NLDS opener for the Sox against James Shields for the Rays....The Division Title was the fifth in White Sox history.....The save for Jenks was his 30th of the season. LES http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5416 For the first time ever,the White Sox will be involved in a one game winner take all Tie-Breaker to decide the American League Central Title,and a Playoff birth opposite Tampa Bay in the ALDS. The Sox earned a Home Game vs the Minnesota Twins Tuesday night at 6:35pm thanks to their 8-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in a make up of an earlier rain out. Former team mate Freddy Garcia held the Sox down and Detroit in fact led 2-1 until Garcia had to leave due to stiffness in his right shoulder in the sixth inning. The Sox went to work against the Tigers 'Gasoline Gang' bullpen and put up a five spot thanks to four walks,three wild pitches and just one hit-a Grand Slam by Alexi Ramirez. Gavin Floyd won his 17th. The waiting game took three hours,four minutes until this make up game started. Gary Sheffield was hit by an inside Floyd pitch with one out and he stole second,but Magglio Ordonez fanned and Miguel Cabrera bounced to short. Garcia,who has a Ring from the White Sox 2005 Champs,took the mound for only his third start of the entire season,having spent most of it on the DL.He walked Orlando Cabrera and DeWayne Wise on five pitches each and Jermaine Dye hit a bouncer up the middle to score the first run.It stayed 1-0 until the Detroit 5th when Ryan Raburn singled,stole second and scored the tying run on a double by Brandon Inge off the LF fence that Wise tried to catch,but he hit the wall,went down hard,but was OK. Dusty Ryan then singled to left with Inge stopping at third.Ramon Santiago fanned for the first out.Curtis Granderson fanned on the 11th pitch on a 3-2 count,and Gary Sheffield bounced into a 5-4 force out to keep the game deadlocked 1-1. The Tigers took the lead in the top of the 6th when with one out,M.Cabrera doubled to the gap in left center.Marcus Thames lined out hard to 3B, but then Raburn hit a slow dribbler that Floyd(17-8) fielded,but he threw it down the RF line as Cabrera scored an unearned run.In the Sox 6th, Wise drew another walk and he stole second on an 0-1 pitch to Dye. Garcia then came up with tightness in his right shoulder,and after the Trainer talked to him for about 3 minutes,he headed for the dugout as the Sox got the break they needed, getting into the awful Detroit Bullpen. Armando Galarraga who was given about five minutes to warm up came in.and he didn't take long to allow the tying run to score. One wild pitch to Dye sent Wise to Third,and then ball four also got away-to the screen as Wise scored and Jim Leyland got Galarraga(13-7) out of there in favor of Bobby Seay who on an 0-2 pitch to Jim Thome,unleashed the third wild pitch of the inning to send Dye to second base.Thome then fanned.Paul Konerko was walked intentionally. and Ken Griffey Jr then walked on four pitches to load the bases.Former White Sox righty Gary Glover was next and his first pitch was drilled into the LF Bleachers by Ramirez for his Slam,his fourth of the season which is a Major League record for a Rookie.That pretty much decided things although the Sox added two more in the 8th to put it away. Matt Thornton,Octavio Dotel,Scott Linebrink and D.J.Carrasco finished the last 3 innings. NOTES---The announced crowd was 35,923....Tuesday night's Tie-Breaker with Minnesota is sold out.....John Danks(11-9)opposes Nick Blackburn(11-10)for the right to fly to St.Petersburg to start the ALDS with the Rays Thursday.....Ramirez's four Slams in a season ties Albert Belle's team record set in 1997.....The Sox took the season series 12-6 from Detroit. LES http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5415 COLUMBUS---Rick Nash had two goals and an assist to lead Columbus to a 7-1 preseason victory over the Blackhawks on Monday night but the Blue Jackets lost forward Raffi Torres for six weeks with a shoulder injury.Kristian Huselius, Fedor Tyutin and Rostislav Klesla each had a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets (2-3). Christian Backman had a goal and an assist and Torres also scored for Columbus.Petri Kontiola scored midway through the third period for the Hawks (3-1). Earlier in the day,the Blackhawks put goalie Nikolai Khabibulin on waivers.Khabibulin is entering the final season of a four-year, $27 million contract. He joined the Hawks from Tampa Bay as a free agent after leading the Lightning to the 2004 Stanley Cup.The Blackhawks signed free-agent goalie Cristobal Huet to a four-year, $22.5 million deal in July, giving them two top goaltenders.Khabibulin was the Blackhawks' highest-paid player until defenseman Brian Campbell signed an eight-year, $56.8 million free-agent contract with the team on July 1.But Khabibulin has been inconsistent and injured over the past three seasons. In 2007-08, he appeared in 50 games, posting a 23-20-6 record with a 2.63 goals against average and .909 save percentage.The Blackhawks finished 40-34-8 last season but again missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs. http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5414 ***The Bears are not only suddenly tied with Green Bay at 2-2 atop the NFC North, but after surprising the Philadelphia Eagles,they have four in a row that are very winnable. At Detroit,at Atlanta, home with Minnesota,and following the bye week,home with the Lions. ***The White Sox still are alive after Mark Buehrle gave them an excellent seven innings,getting four key double plays on the ground,and now get a chance to force a Wild Card Tie Breaker game Tuesday,if they can beat the lowly Detroit Tigers Monday afternoon. Freddy Garcia,who according to scouts has shown little since coming off the disabled list,will start against his former team while Gavin Floyd gets the nod for the Sox. If they can't beat these Mo-Town Kitties,then they don't deserve to keep playing. However,should they beat Detroit,then the Twins come in for a one game 'winner take all' with a best of three ALDS birth against favored Tampa Bay at stake. ***If the Sox do beat Detroit, then the Twins would be the third different opponent the Southsiders would be hosting in as many days(Cleveland on Sunday). Can't remember that ever happening in regular season play. If the Sox get by both the Tigers and Twins, then Tampa Bay would be the fourth game with four different opponents. ***It's already set for the Angels to face the Red Sox in the other ALDS starting in Anahiem. The most famous meeting between those two was in 1986 when the Halos took a three games to one lead and had Boston all but beaten in game five.Then former Cub Donnie Moore gave up a ninth inning homer to Dave Henderson that tied the game and Boston won in extra innings. The Red Sox also won games six and seven to win the Pennant,but they blew games six(the Bill Buckner play)and seven(after leading 3-0)to the Mets. ***The Cubs will play the Dodgers for the first time ever in Post Season play starting Wednesday and Thursday at Wrigley Field. It will be the second time Lou Piniella and Joe Torre go head to head in a Playoff Series.The other was in 2001 when Torre's Yankees beat Piniella's Mariners in the ALCS. The Cubs avoid the Mets Johan Santana,but the Dodgers rotation and Bullpen may be deeper than New York's is. How well the Cubs do against Manny Ramirez will also be a key. The Cubs will work out at Wrigley on Tuesday. ***The Brewers are in the playoffs for the first time since joining the National League in 1998,and for the first time period since they were in the 1982 World Series as AL Champs and they lost to the Cardinals in seven games.The Brewers have a challenge in the Phillies who are pounding the ball,have been getting good starting pitching,and Brad Lidge has not yet blown a save this season.Of course Lidge has never been a very effective Playoff closer as the Cardinals(Albert Pujols)and White Sox(Scott Podsednik)have in part showed. ***Since the Cubs-Brewers rivalry has grown to new heights, how would an I-94 NLCS be! Of course the Cubs have to get by LA and the Brewers past the Phils. Remember,the Brewers got swept four straight at Citizens Bank Park a few weeks ago. CHICAGO BASEBALL PLAYOFF CLINCHINGS(Since Divisional play started in 1969): ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- *1983 WHITE SOX beat Seattle Mariners at Comiskey Park on Harold Baines sac fly to score Julio Cruz with game winning run to clinch AL West. Top song at the time: EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE by STING. Other Chicago sports events: Lee Elia's tirade 4/29, Blackhawks get to Conf Finals but lose to Edmonton, Illini go to Rose Bowl but lose to UCLA 45-9. *1984 CUBS beat Pittsburgh Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium behind Rick Sutcliffe who fanned Joe Orsulik to end game and clinch NL East. Top song at the time: JUMP by VAN HALEN. Other Chicago sports events: Bears win first Division Title since 1963 as Walter Payton breaks Jim Brown's NFL career rushing record, Bulls draft Michael Jordan, Sting win last ever NASL Outdoor Title. DePaul loses to Wake Forest in NCAA 2nd round and Coach Ray Meyer retires. *1989 CUBS beat Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium as Mitch Williams fanned Mike Fitzgerald to clinch NL East. Top song at the time: LOOK AWAY by CHICAGO. Other Chicago sports events: Bears start season 4-0 but fall apart and end up 6-10. Michael Jordan hit "The Shot" over Cleveland's Craig Ehlo as Bulls advance past Cavs and then Knicks. Blackhawks get to Conf Finals but lose to Calgary. Illini Hoops got to Final Four but lose to Michigan by two. *1993 WHITE SOX beat Seattle Mariners at New Comiskey Park as Bo Jackson broke a scoreless tie with a 7th inning towering homer to clinch AL West. Top song at the time: WHOOMP! (THERE IT IS) by TAG TEAM. Other Chicago sports events: Bulls 'Three Peat' on John Paxson's three pointer at Phoenix. Michael Jordan retires for the first time just before training camp in October. Final Blackhawks and Bulls season at Chicago Stadium begin in the Fall. *1998 CUBS beat San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field behind Steve Trachsel and a key Gary Gaetti homer to win NL Wild Card. Top song at the time: I DON'T WANT TO MISS A THING by AEROSMITH. Other Chicago sports events: Bulls win 6th(and to this date final)NBA Title as Michael Jordan hits winning shot over Bryan Russell of Utah. Phil Jackson leaves Bulls who unload Pippen,Rodman and strip the team down. Tim Floyd becomes Bulls Coach. Sammy Sosa hits 66 homers for Cubs in battle with Mark McGwire to break Roger Maris's record. After another awful season, Dave Wannstedt is dismissed by the Bears, Dave McGinnis is announced as his replacement,but then walks away,unhappy with the job description as set up by Michael McCaskey who then moves up from President to Chairman of the Board,replaced by Ted Phillips. Dick Jauron is hired as Bears Coach. Wolves win first Championship and the IHL Turner Cup in seven games over Detroit Vipers. *2000 WHITE SOX lost to Minnesota Twins at Metrodome,but Cleveland also lost so the Sox clinched the AL Central. Top Song at the time: WHO LET THE DOGS OUT by BAHA MEN, Other Chicago sports events: Northwestern win's share of Big Ten Football Title,but lose big to Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl. Cubs play first two regular season games of the new Century against the Mets in Tokyo and split. *2003 CUBS swept a double header from Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field while Houston lost to Milwaukee which all combined to clinch the NL Central. Top song at the time: IT'S MY LIFE by NO DOUBT. Other Chicago sports events: White Sox fire Jerry Manuel and replace him with Ozzie Guillen. Bears dismiss Dick Jauron and hire Lovie Smith as Coach. Bulls fire Coach Bill Cartwright and replace him with Scott Skiles. *2005 WHITE SOX beat Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field to clinch the AL Central en route to winning the World Series. Top song at the time: BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS by GREEN DAY. Other Chicago sports events: Bears have surprising season and win NFC Central,but lose to Carolina in first round of Playoffs. Illini make first visit to Final Four and beat Lousiville,but lose to North Carolina in National Championship Game. *2007 CUBS shutout Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark behind Carlos Zambrano,then the Brewers lost to the Padres and the Cubs clinched the NL Central. Top song at the time: THE SWEET ESCAPE by GWEN STEFANI. Other Chicago sports events: . Bears lose Super Bowl in Feb to Colts after Devin Hester returns opening kickoff for TD. Bears then miss Playoff in 2007 season. Blackhawks Owner William W.Wirtz dies,Son Rocky takes over team and hires John McDonough away from the Cubs and they put Home games on TV. Bulls get off to bad start and then fire Scott Skiles.They go on to miss Playoffs for first time in four seasons. *2008 CUBS beat St.Louis Cardinals 5-4 at Wrigley Field behind Ted Lilly to clinch NL Central. WHITE SOX beat Minnesota Twins 1-0 on the South Side to win Tie-Breaker game on Jim home's 461 foot homer in 7th inning. LES http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5413 The Bears used a no huddle offense in the first half to surprise the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20 as Kyle Orton tossed three touchdown passes-all before halftime.The Bears defense also came up with a late goal line stand to save the game and improve to 2-2 which now has them tied with Green Bay for the NFC North lead.The Bears won the toss and deferred,which is becoming Lovie Smith's(and other NFL Coaches)way. Robbie Gould kicked off out of the end zone.The Eagles went three and out as Donovan McNabb was sacked on third down by Daniel Manning and Adewale Ogunleye.After Sav Rodda's punt,the Bears started at their own 41 and did not take long(just three plays)to stun the favored Eagles.One first down,Kyle Orton found Rashied Davis for 34 yards to the Eagles 25.Then he hit Matt Forte for six out of the back field.And then Greg Olsen made a finger tip grab near the back of the end zone on a 19 yard TD play, and with just 1:55 gone,the Bears had a fast 7-0 lead. The second Philadelphia possession started at the3 26,and this time McNabb received time and picked the Bears apart. He found Reggie Brown for 23 yards,and four plays later DeSean Jackson ran for 21 yards around left end and moved the ball to the Bears 22.Following an incompleted pass and a no gainer by Correll Buckhalter, McNabb fired a bullet pass up the middle through three different defenders and Jackson made the grab near the back of the end zone to tie the game at 7-7. Devin Hester,active for this game,sore ribs and all, returned the kickoff 24 yards before he was forced out of bounds at the Bear 35.Hester also lined up at WR and caught a five yard pass on second down,but Orton overthrew both Desmond Clark and Forte on first and third down respectively so Brad Maynard punted to Jackson who fair caught the 29 yard-er at his own 20. The Bears stopped the Eagles and forced another punt,and Charles Tillman was called for roughing the kicker,but the Bears caught a huge break when the Eagles for flagged for illegal formation,so the penalties off set each other,and the Eagles punted again, to Hester who caught it at his own 45.After the Eagles held,early in the second quarter,the Bears caught a huge break when Maynard's punt was muffed by Jackson and Nick Roach recovered at the Eagles 24.One play later from the 23,Orton hit Marty Booker who got it over the goal line and the Bears regained the lead 14-7.The Eagles however came roaring right back.McNabb threw passes of 16 and 31 yards to Brown that left the ball on the Bears one,and on the next play Buckhalter crashed over to tie it at 14-all with 11:40 left in the half.It only took Philly five plays to go 67 yards. On the Bears next possession, Orton tried to hit Forte,but his arm was hit by Juqua Parker and Mike Patterson intercepted it at the Bears 49 and returned it 8 yards.However,on third and one,Buckhalter was stuffed by Alex Brown.It was the first of two key hits on Buckholder by Brown,with the biggest yet to come. David Akers' field goal try from 50 yards out was wide right. The Bears took over at their own 40,and Orton hit Brandon Lloyd for 24 yards to the Eagles 31,but Lloyd was shaken up on the play and went to the locker room on his own power with an apparent knee injury and did not return. A seven yard pass to Forte got the Bears a first down at the 21.Then on a second down play from the twenty,Orton threw his third TD pass of the half as Hester made a nice grab over two defenders with 1:16 left.In the third quarter,the Bears offense went sour with three turnovers and no first downs.They went three and out with their first possession of the third quarter and Maynard punted it dead on the Eagles four.McNabb hit Brown for 8 yards and Buckhalter ran around right end for 25 more,dragging two tacklers the last 11 or so yards to the Eagle 37. But on the next play,McNabb tossed one up for grabs that Kenny Payne has go right into his midsection for an interception at his own 40,and he returned it 49 yards to the Philly 11. But Orton then gave it right back by throwing a pick in the end zone right to Quintin Mikell. After a punt pushed the Bears back to their own 3, Maynard punted and the Eagles started at the Bears 35,but they had to settled for another Akers field goal try,which was again no good as it hit the right goal post.Tillman went out right before that with a shoulder injury but later returned,and re-injured the shoulder to finally be ruled out for the rest of the game.The Bears took over again,but not for long as Orton was sacked,fumbled and Omar Gaither recovered at the Bears 27. On a third down, McNabb hit Jason Avant at the 12.The Eagles got to the two,but McNabb fell down for a four yard sack and Akers on his third try was good from 24. Hester returned the next kickoff 50 yards to the midfield stripe.After an exchange of possessions, and with the fourth quarter underway,the Bears gave it back when a bad hand off from Orton to Kevin Jones ended up on the ground and the Eagles Stewart Bradley recovered at the Bears 31.But a few plays later the Eagles had to settle for an Akers 31 yarder which was good,and cut the Bears lead to 21-20.In the third quarter,the Bears had one more turnover(3)than yards on offense(2). At this point,the scoreboard froze,and the play clocks stopped working,so timing was kept on the field.A Bears drive actually got to the Eagles 18,but they stalled again and Robbie Gould hit a 41 yard field goal to make the score 24-20.After the kickoff,McNabb took the Eagles from their own 24 all the way to inside the Bears one where they faced a fourth and goal.And Buckholder was stuffed by A. Brown and the Bears took over.The Eagles did not see the ball again until they were almost out of time. Forte came up with a key 10 yard run on third down to move the chains to the 17 yard line,causing the Eagles to burn their last timeout with 2:33 left. The Eagles got it back with just :17 left and time ran out on them. NOTES---The Bears turned it over four times to the Eagles three.....Orton was 18-34 for 199 yds,two interceptions and of course the 3 TD's.His passer rating was 75.5.In the second half however he was just 3-10 for just 15 yds.....McNabb ended up 25-41 for 262 yds, 1 interception and 1 TD.His passer rating finished at 77.5. ....Orton was sacked 4 times,McNabb 3 times.....The Bears head to Detroit next Sunday. LES http://www.grobber.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5412 Jonathan Toews scored two power-play goals, and newcomer Brian Campbell had four assists in the Blackhawks' 4-3 preseason victory against the Dallas Stars on Sunday night.All three games so far have been in the United Center.Patrick Sharp and Jack Skille also scored for the Hawks, who improved to 3-0 in exhibition play. Sharp's goal was his fourth in three preseason games.Matt Niskanen, Joel Lundqvist and Loui Eriksson scored for Dallas (1-3-0).Campbell, a defenseman, was signed by the Blackhawks to an eight-year, $56.8 million free-agent contract in July.A big reason why the Blackhawks acquired Campbell was to improve their power play. On Sunday, they scored three goals with a man advantage.Hawk goalie Antti Niemi made 28 saves. Dallas' Stephan Tobias blocked 24 shots.Toews opened the scoring on a power play only 32 seconds in, when his centering pass deflected in off the skate of Dallas defenseman Garrett Stafford.Niskanen tied it at 1 at 5:41 of the first on a bouncing shot from the right point that slipped between Niemi's pads.Sharp's power-play score later in the first period, on a screened shot from the left circle, gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead.Toews' second goal, also on the power play, made it 3-1 less than two minutes into the second. He deflected in Campbell's drive from the top of the slot.Lundqvist jammed in a rebound about six minutes later to cut it to 3-2. Skille drove to the net and made it 4-2 with a backhand shot with 7:06 left in the second.Eriksson's deflection at 4:19 of the third cut it to 4-3.